Buzz Aldrin

A New York auction of more than 300 pieces of space memorabilia took in more than $443,000 over the weekend, including $18,400 paid by a Scarsdale lawyer for a plastic toothbrush carried to the moon by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. But two of the most poignant items in the sale - a flight suit and helmet offered by the family of Columbia astronaut David Brown - were withdrawn after NASA told the family the equipment was still government property. Officials at Swann Galleries said the two Brown items had been expected to sell for at least $48,000.

The moon nears its first-quarter phase tonight, the 38th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing. Look up. People walked there in 1969. Moonwalker No. 2, Buzz Aldrin, said in 1970, "We understood the significance what we were doing. I felt like we were not alone." They weren't. Millions of us watched, spellbound. Neil Armstrong, No. 1, told Life magazine of a recurring dream: "He was able to hover over the ground if he held his breath. ... It was a beautiful dream." It was.

The moon nears its first-quarter phase tonight, the 38th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing. Look up. People walked there in 1969. Moonwalker No. 2, Buzz Aldrin, said in 1970, "We understood the significance what we were doing. I felt like we were not alone." They weren't. Millions of us watched, spellbound. Neil Armstrong, No. 1, told Life magazine of a recurring dream: "He was able to hover over the ground if he held his breath. ... It was a beautiful dream." It was.

A New York auction of more than 300 pieces of space memorabilia took in more than $443,000 over the weekend, including $18,400 paid by a Scarsdale lawyer for a plastic toothbrush carried to the moon by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. But two of the most poignant items in the sale - a flight suit and helmet offered by the family of Columbia astronaut David Brown - were withdrawn after NASA told the family the equipment was still government property. Officials at Swann Galleries said the two Brown items had been expected to sell for at least $48,000.

AS MEMORY serves, they piped Alan B. Shepard's pioneering spaceshot over the intercom at Baltimore City College, where my 10th-grade class was slogging through one of Mr. Dittman's geometry lectures on the fascinating life of the parallelogram. We were all a little disappointed that day, because Shepard's ride lasted only 15 minutes. It meant that, when he returned to Earth, we still had to suffer through 35 minutes of the joys of parallelograms.The newspapers all offered glowing tributes to Shepard last week, when he died, at 74, after a long struggle with leukemia.

By Heather Tepe and Heather Tepe,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | September 1, 1999

EDNA WRENN has seen enormous changes in her lifetime. Born in Washington on Aug. 28, 1899, she has lived through two world wars and the Great Depression and has witnessed, on television, man's first walk on the moon.Mrs. Wrenn celebrated her 100th birthday last week at Harmony Hall Retirement Community in Hickory Ridge."I had four birthday parties," she said. "It lasted all week. I had so many friends and relatives there. It was wonderful."On Friday, a representative from the county executive's office attended a party held in her honor and presented her with a proclamation declaring Saturday to be Edna Wrenn Day in Howard County.

As in, "get him the ball in space" or "he operates best in space." This phrase makes me think of Johnny Rodgers at Nebraska, but Buzz Aldrin operated pretty well in space, too. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

Today in hisory: July 20In 1881, Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of the Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops.In 1944, German officials tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb at his Rastenburg headquarters. The explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pa., killing 80 people and causing $350 million in damage.

When Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin flew off from the surface of the moon 25 years ago, they left behind an array of instruments that scientists are still using to measure meticulously the motions of the Earth and its satellite.Long after the Apollo team retired, younger scientists are learning with precision just how far the Earth and moon are separated.They know how fast the moon rotates and how much the Earth wobbles as it spins on its axis.Many instruments have stopped working, but clusters of reflecting devices, which require no power, remain.

Still coming down from the unexpectedly riveting Winter Olympics? We've got you covered. Here's our pop culture week in review -- with a bit of Olympics chaser to go down smoothly. VIENNA WINS 'THE BACHELOR': Apparently, not just for sausages anymore. ASTRO-NUT: Oh, Buzz Aldrin. You can either talk scientifically about bringing man to Mars or you can join the cast of "Dancing With the Stars." But not both. LINDSAY LOHAN TO PEN MEMOIR: Stop trying to make "respectability" happen, Lindsay.

By Heather Tepe and Heather Tepe,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | September 1, 1999

EDNA WRENN has seen enormous changes in her lifetime. Born in Washington on Aug. 28, 1899, she has lived through two world wars and the Great Depression and has witnessed, on television, man's first walk on the moon.Mrs. Wrenn celebrated her 100th birthday last week at Harmony Hall Retirement Community in Hickory Ridge."I had four birthday parties," she said. "It lasted all week. I had so many friends and relatives there. It was wonderful."On Friday, a representative from the county executive's office attended a party held in her honor and presented her with a proclamation declaring Saturday to be Edna Wrenn Day in Howard County.

AS MEMORY serves, they piped Alan B. Shepard's pioneering spaceshot over the intercom at Baltimore City College, where my 10th-grade class was slogging through one of Mr. Dittman's geometry lectures on the fascinating life of the parallelogram. We were all a little disappointed that day, because Shepard's ride lasted only 15 minutes. It meant that, when he returned to Earth, we still had to suffer through 35 minutes of the joys of parallelograms.The newspapers all offered glowing tributes to Shepard last week, when he died, at 74, after a long struggle with leukemia.

How fitting the crew of NASA's final space shuttle mission will end almost 42 years to the day men set foot on the moon. On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to visit earth's closest neighbor in space. I'm fortunate to be able to recall that July evening in 1969 when the world held its breath as the Eagle landed on that airless world. Although Neil Armstrong and Buzz Armstrong planted the American flag on the lunar surface, I give credit to the Russians for making the "one small step for man" possible.

By David Bianculli and David Bianculli,Special to The Sun | February 24, 1994

Take a breather. The icy duel between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, and all those other pesky skaters, will conclude tomorrow, so today the media will be busy doing reacts to yesterday's results and previews of tomorrow's finals. And just in time, before we all get hard of hearing of Harding, tonight's TV offers some entertaining, totally unrelated viewing alternatives.* "Mad About You" (8 p.m.-8:30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- In a plot line that would have been impossible 15 years ago, Jamie (Helen Hunt)